This Study Aims To Make Cannabis Part Of A Healthy Sex Life - And You Can Help

The natural pairing that is cannabis and coitus has been well documented, but a team of researchers in Toronto is hoping to go deeper.

The Sex & Cannabis Study – being conducted by Redington Research in Toronto – is seeking accounts from Canadians about how cannabis can address various problems in the bedroom.

“There are so many different sexual dysfunctions or concerns that people have and don’t necessarily want to talk about or that they keep behind closed doors,” Brenleigh Chandler, director of media and outreach with the Sex & Cannabis Study, told Civilized.

“We want to know: where can we introduce cannabis to benefit people?”

She says the study – wherein participants fill out a monthly survey based on their cannabis use and how it improves their sex life – aims to pinpoint how cannabis can positively impact “sexual disorders and the medical conditions that come along with things like anxiety.” The study was launched on May 25 and has already garnered interest from roughly 150 Canadians.

The research team hopes to discover “the perfect strains” for addressing everything from low libido or stamina to a lack of natural lubrication or solid erections.

“We’ll be covering a wide range of issues and demographics, and the longer the study goes on, the more we’ll be able to narrow down” who and what is being helped by cannabis, said Chandler, adding that their research has “so many different potential outcomes.”

One demographic researchers wish to explore is victims of sexual assault, who can sometimes experience sexual setbacks stemming from past traumas and may be able to benefit from certain cannabis strains, said Chandler.

“For some sexual assault victims... having sex can cause triggers, so we’re interested in pairing them with a strain that doesn’t cause paranoia or just provides that relaxation they need to bring them to a moment where they can enjoy sex,” said Chandler.

Along with completing monthly surveys, participants will have access to a slate of sexologists and cannabis experts for all their questions and concerns. The research period has been tentatively set at around two years, said Chandler, in the interest of “building that trust with people.”

Making you feel good and taking the edge off are, after all, not the only things that sex and cannabis have in common; both are the unfortunate victims of stigmatization, said Chandler, meaning it can take some people longer to get comfortable opening up about either subject.

“People will ask me what I do for a living and I bring up cannabis and they often just shut down. They don’t want to talk about it. It’s kind of the same thing with sex,” said Chandler. “It doesn’t need to be that way. We should be more open about these relationships and how to make sex better.

“Maybe introducing cannabis on that side can help people lose those inhibitions and provide them with the ability to say to each other, ‘I feel really relaxed with you, let’s intensify this, let’s talk about it.’”

All study participants need to have a prescription for medical cannabis in order to be involved with the study. If you have a medical diagnosis and are interested in participating in the study but don’t have a cannabis prescription, the research team is willing and able to help you acquire one through their network of compassionate physicians.